Musical building-blocks.



A. A. GIPFIN.

MUSICAL BUILDIN BLOGKS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1909.

9329, 1279 Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

A TTORNEY.

'UNXTE ARTHUR A. GIFFIN, or SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

MUSICAL BUILDING-BLOCKS.

Application filed May 4, 1909.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR A. GlFFlN, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical Building-Blocks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact de scription.

This invention relates to blocks or separable pieces for constituting a means for amusement and instruction of children, enabling them by the assemblage of the blocks or pieces to construct a scale, and to produce thereon an operating or actual musical notation.

The invention consists in a combination of base blocks or boards having grooves, thin straight strips to be set in such grooves and to project above the face of the base members, and other blocks, bearing musical char acters, such as clefs, sharps, flats and notes, indications of half notes, etc., so formed as to be detachably engaged with the rib constituting strips which form the lines of the staif.

The improved musical building blocks are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure l is a plan or face view showing the various members in assembled relation. Figs. 2 and 3 are cross sectional views on lines 2-2 and 33, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a perspective View showing various pieces in more or less separated relations.

In the drawings,A A represent several comparatively short base boards or blocks having parallel longitudinal grooves a a therein, usually five in number, these grooved boards being designed for arrangement with their grooves in alinement or *continuation to form, as desired, a more or less long base for a musical chart.

Z) Z) represent thin straight strips having thicknesses corresponding to the widths of narrow grooves a of the base blocks, and having widths so that, when engaged in the grooves, they extend outwardly beyond the face of the base and in arrangement to represent the lines of the staff.

A comparatively large number of blocks or pieces 13, B are provided, those 13, as shown, having the representations of the larger musical characters, such as clefs, thereon, while those B are made smaller and Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

Serial No. 493,954.

have representations thereon of such musical characters as sharps, flats, and notes.

The blocks B have tongues at their lower or rear sides in which are grooves cl, so that because of such grooves the blocks may be engaged with any of the parallel strips or ribs forming the staff lines; and the tongues of these blocks are of such width as to fit between the ribs so that any note or musical. character may, if desired, have its position between the scale lines instead of on such lines.

The strips Z) which form outstanding ribs beyond the face of the base members are of different lengths from those of the base members so as to break joints with the body ends of the base members and thereby constitute bonds for holding the parts A A in their alinement and preventing accidental displacement.

The pieces .15 for the larger characters are made of su'l'licient size to extend nearly or fully across the staif and have a plurality of grooves d as shown in Figs. 2 and fl.

I provide in addition to the base sections A A constructed with the five parallel grooves, a quantity of blocks f f having upstanding ribs so that any of the note bearing blocks required to be positioned below the staff may be engaged on the ribs of such blocks f which, as shown in Fig. 1, may be set against the lower edge of any of the base members A, and sustained on the table, floor, or other support on which the blocks or pieces are assembled.

The edges of the strips 6 b may be stained or painted black or of any color to contrast- With the face of the base sections so that the staff lines will the more conspicuously appear.

Several of the grooved base boards, a sumcient number of the rib forming strips Z) and also of the blocks bearing representations of notes or other musical characters, as well as a sutlicient number of the rib provided supplemental pieces f are provided as separate pieces and are to be furnished in boxes similarly as done for toy building blocks whereby may be put into the hands of aohild means to set up the parts in a manner greatly conducive to amusement and instruction.

Of course, pieces having structural characteristics the same as those indicated in the ones I) may be provided having many other musical characters on the faces thereo't beyond those herein particularly shown.

1 claim 1. An amusement device consisting of pluralities of base sections and means tor constituting parallel outwardly protruding ribs corresponding to statt lines, and pieces provided on their faces with l'nusical characters, having tongues at their backs of widths corresponding to the distance between the statt' line ribs, and having grooves corresponding to the thickness of said ribs.

2. A device of the character described comprising base sections having parallel longitudinal grooves and adapted to be endwise abutted with their grooves in alinement, strips wider than the depths ot the grooves adapted to be engaged therein, and separate pieces having musical characters on their faces and constructed for engagements with the said rib forming strips.

2-}. In a device of the character described, a plurality of base members having parallel longitudinal grooves, strips having a thickness corresponding to the width of the grooves, having widths greater than the depth of the grooves, and having lengths ditterent from the lengths of the base-sections and adapted, by engagement with the alined grooved base sections, to constitute outstanding ribs corresponding to the stat? lines, and serving to bond the base sections one to another, and separate pieces having musical cl'iaracters on their faces and adapted by their back portions to engage with the stalt line ribs.

4. A device of the character described comprising base sections having parallel longitudinal grooves and adapted to be endwise abutted with their grooves in alinement, strips wider than the depths of the grooves, and adapted to be engaged in such grooves, and separate pieces having musical characters on their faces and constructed at their backs with tongues of widths corresponding to the distance between the strips engaged in said grooves, and having grooves corresponding to the thickness of said strips.

An amusement device consisting ol pluralities of base sections and means for constituting parallel outwardly protruding ribs correspomling to statt lines, thereon, blocks having protruding straight ribs, to be placed below the base sections, and pieces provided on their faces with musical char acters, having tongues at their backs of widths corresponding to the distance be tween the statl line ribs. and having grooves corresponding to the thickness of said ribs, and adapted for engagements with the statl' line ribs, and with the ribs ot the pieces set below the stall.

6. In a device of the character described, a plurality of base members having parallel longitudinal grooves, strips having a thickness corresponding to the width of the grooves, having widths greater than the depth of the grooves, and having lengths ditl'erent from the lengths of the base sec tions, and adapted, by engagement with the alined base sections, to constitute outstanding ribs corresponding to the statl' lines, a plurality of blocks having musical characters on their faces and having, at their back portions, tongues to [it between sta'tt-lineribs and grooves to receive sta'lt-line-rib engagements therein, and pieces for larger musi all characters having ribs in the backs tor statt' rib engagements therein.

Signed by me at Springfield, Mass, in presence of two sul'iscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR A. GIFFIN.

\Vitnesses:

'31; S. BELLows.

G. R. Dmseonn. 

